Kindred Spirits
by NoelleWynters
Summary: This blossoming friendship brings both confusion and comfort to both concerned, but could it be turning into something more?


_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all just for fun._

* * *

Humans were such curious creatures, he had come to that conclusion many centuries ago but simply listening to Alice talk about her life in England cemented the idea in his mind.

The more Alice talked about her relationship with her father, the more Cyrus pitied the man. He had become so absorbed in his grief that he'd failed to see the girl right in front of him who longed for his love and could have helped him move forward from such heart break.

But that always seemed to be the way of it with human nature; they never realized what was right in front of them. Cyrus had seen it so many times; he'd lost count of the masters who had been obsessed with what they deemed the better life that they lost sight of all the riches they already possessed. Only once had he become impatient and pointed out that the man had everything anyone could ever wish for; a loving wife and healthy children. The man had a nice home and lived well, but as it always seemed to be that just wasn't enough. They always wanted more.

That hadn't ended favourably for anyone concerned, Cyrus had been told he knew nothing of life as he only had one purpose and that was to grant wishes. Of course he couldn't argue that, but had watched as the wishes slowly tore the family apart.

But of course, he knew nothing about these things. He was just a genie, there to grant wishes and then to be tossed aside and forgotten.

He looked over at Alice, who was currently practicing her sword play on a dying tree. A smile ghosted his lips as he watched her, he could not remember smiling this much before in all his existence. What was it about this girl? He knew one day soon she'd make her wishes and move on with her life, and if he was lucky he'd at the very least be a fond memory, if even that.

The fact she wasn't using her wishes baffled him, any time it even became a topic of conversation she instantly switched it to another topic. She was eager to learn about anything he could teach her. She treated him as she would a friend and that was not something he was accustom to. It confused him greatly, surely she had friends back in England. Why was she not treating this relationship the way it was meant to be treated? He was, for all intent and purpose, a servant to her will and he could not figure out why she was not treating him as such.

Not that he would complain about it if someone decided to ask him, he rather liked this pseudo freedom. She'd asked a few more times about wishing him free and he'd impressed upon her it was a bad idea, explaining a few of the stories he'd heard. It was then she simply smiled and said she just wouldn't make a wish and he could be out as long as he pleased. Yet another confusing statement, none of this was making sense. Although he couldn't expect much of this to make sense when she was the first person to ever discover he existed by walking into his bottle.

And then came the confusing feelings he felt when he looked at her. A strange warmth and feeling of happiness he had never felt before, that he could remember. When she looked at him he couldn't help but smile. And all he wanted to do was make her smile, he didn't like seeing her with sadness overshadowing her features at the thought of England or her father. He only wanted to see her happy, no matter what.

He was beginning to wonder if this emotion he was feeling was love.

* * *

She swung at the brittle branch of the dying tree again, grinning as it fell to the ground. Using a sword really wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She'd much rather use her wits but it was good to have other fighting skills in Wonderland. It would be useless in England, but then again her father already thought her insane so she supposed if she started wielding a sword he'd just chalk it up to her mental instability.

Out of the corner of her eye Alice could see Cyrus standing a few paces away watching her curiously. Her smile widened as she looked at him, she could see he was still trying to figure out what exactly was going on. It was rather endearing, when she'd met him he was very calm and assured of the world and now she'd pretty well tossed a spanner in the mix.

Every so often he would mention the wishes, or if she'd said something that sounded like a wish she'd have to instantly inform him it wasn't. She didn't want to make any wishes; if she did then she would find herself alone again. And she was tired of being alone.

Wonderland was fun, and she enjoyed the adventure and even some of the dangers, but she experienced all of the thrills on her own. There was no one to reminisce with, not one person to laugh over the crazy schemes with her. Her father didn't believe one word she uttered, simply shuffled her off to some doctor or other to try to cure her of her delusions.

Then Cyrus had come along, and everything had changed. She'd been planning to return to England until she'd walked into his bottle. Even after that she'd planned to leave until he'd given her the three wishes, she'd thought at first he was joking when he'd said his will was hers. That was right up until the three little jewel like wishes appeared in her hand.

That had been a game changer; suddenly her eyes were open to a new possibility. Returning to England to try to convince her father she was not crazy took a back seat to the idea of exploring this new friendship. She was never one not to make friends with the people she met along the way, so long as they were not hostile that is. And in Cyrus she'd recognized a sadness she was well acquainted with.

They were both trapped. She by the stigma society back in England had over her wild imagination, even though her stories were true, and him by a bottle. The sadness in his eyes when he'd told her he spent his life serving those who found him spoke volumes. He wanted to be free from that life, but couldn't be.

She felt the same about her life in England. She wanted so much more, to feel the love her father should have for her. She wanted friends who didn't treat her as though she were slightly off mentally and wanted adventures. She knew she would never have any of that back home. Her father had never moved on from the death of his wife, her mother, and never would. No matter how she tried to have him see her and love her, she knew he would always look through her and never see her.

Adventures were not something she'd have in England either, not the kind she enjoyed. But in Wonderland, anything was possible. She'd found a genie who was more than willing to grant her any wish she desired. Of course the one she wanted the most was to have the past changed and to have her mother still alive, but he could not do that.

There was nothing else she desired, which made having a genie rather pointless. Although she didn't want anything, she realized quickly she'd found a kindred in him. They both longed for something they couldn't have, but she was slowly beginning to realize they could have it all so long as they were together and she never made the three wishes.

And she never would, his company was all she wanted. The past few months had been the best of her entire life and she didn't want it to end. She felt wanted, and that was something she'd never felt in her entire life. Somebody actually wanted her around, someone would listen to her when she spoke and took notice of her.

No, she didn't need to make any wishes because she had it all. She'd found a kindred in Cyrus and that was all she'd ever wished for in her life.

_AN: I am taking a leap posting on here, I haven't in over a year. Sadly seeing so few Alice/Cyrus stories kind of gave me the idea to do so. I have this posted elsewhere, so I imagine some may recognize it. I hope you enjoy regardless and I will hopefully be back with more at some point._


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